Mali Crisis: ECOWAS is partly to blame – Security Expert

Security Analyst, Emmanuel Kutin, has expressed that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) should be partly blamed for the ongoing crisis in Mali.

He believes that the second military overthrow is a result of the failure of various stakeholders to follow the transitional charter prepared after the first coup.

Emmanuel Kutin examining the situation noted: “In September where the mediation efforts were held at Peduase lodge, there was a transitional charter and if you read through the charter, I think along the line it was not properly followed and that is why we have a relapse in Mali today.

More often than not, the special envoy to mediate the crisis of this nature is not any person other than a former president of the federal republic of Nigeria, Good Luck Jonathan.

What is missing of which some of us are watching from afar and cannot understand is that a reshuffle of that magnitude happens and the mediator is not involved or was not even informed.

So, if we look at the transition act, apart from putting the transition government in place which was supposed to happen in 8 years, the mediator was supposed to continue the diplomacy.”

He added that for the vice-president of the transitional government, Col Assimi Goïta, to be sidestepped in the reshuffling process, “it creates the undesirability in the mentality of African leaders because as a transition government, you are just a caretaker government and everything you do you must be mindful of the stakeholders.”

Emmanuel Kutin shared that the woes of the African continent when it comes to governance is because the “ingredients of democracy” are not at play.

The Security Expert described ECOWAS as one with “teeth that cannot bite” as he notes that the principle of democracy is not entrenched in the ECOWAS sub-region as it is expected.

Background

Nine months after overthrowing President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in the wake of mass anti-government protests, the army led by Col Assimi Goïta detained President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane just hours after the announcement of a new cabinet that excluded two key military leaders.

Col Assimi Goïta says President Bah Ndaw and PM Moctar Ouane failed in their duties and were seeking to sabotage the country’s transition.

Coup leader Assimi Goita was appointed as vice president and the caretaker administration was tasked with overseeing an 18-month transition back to civilian rule. Two others who were instrumental in the coup – Sadio Camara and Colonel Modibo Kone – were given the defense and security portfolios, respectively.

Camara and Kone were replaced in the shuffle, although the military held onto other strategic portfolios it previously controlled.

Meanwhile, the UN chief, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), the EU, and the US have all said that the president and prime minister be released without any preconditions.